’42’ Trailer Gives First Glimpse At Jackie Robinson Biopic

The trailer for “42,” the upcoming film from director Brian Helgeland debuted on Thursday (September 20) giving fans a a first look at the true story, which will be based on the journey and struggle of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson. Robinson made history in 1947 becoming the first Major League Baseball player.

Actor Chadwick Boseman will play the groundbreaking slugger in “42.” But what’s supposed to be an uplifting story starts on a tense note — appropriate enough given the climate of the times the movie is set in — as Robinson takes a long walk down a hall toward his team’s dugout, and eventually onto the field itself.

From there, the trailer shows a world steeped in segregation, where bathrooms and seating areas and more are assigned by skin color. It’s not a world that sits well with Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, played here by Harrison Ford. It’s a world that he wants to change.

Enter Robinson. The legendary athlete is seen in numerous scenes from his early childhood to his first days in the major leagues, while Jay-Z and Santigold’s “Brooklyn Go Hard” blares in the background. And the going is very hard indeed for Robinson, who finds himself beaned in the face by a deliberately aimed pitch, a clear signal that he’s unwanted in this game.